A door lining (or door trim) of an automotive door is typically provided with an integral armrest that protrudes toward the passenger compartment. An armrest is typically fitted with an electric component such as a power window switch, a door mirror adjustment switch and switches for other onboard equipment. Typically, only a part of the electric component protrudes from the upper wall of the armrest, and the remaining part thereof is placed inside the hollow interior of the armrest. Therefore, when assembling such a component, it is necessary to mount it from the interior of the armrest or from the side of the door lining facing the interior of the door, and this tends to complicate the assembly process.
According to a proposal disclosed in Japanese patent laid open publication No. 2002-172982, a component is mounted on an upper wall of a door armrest by using resilient engagement tabs provided with a barb that permit the component to be mounted and secured in position from above or from the exterior of the door handle. However, according to this proposal, the external appearance of the armrest is not so attractive as desired, and there is some difficulty in servicing the component once it is mounted because of the difficulty in removing the component without damaging the surrounding part of the armrest.
Also, the space above the armrest may be limited typically owing to the presence of a door handle extending in the space above the armrest so that the work required for assembling and removing the component to and from the upper wall of the armrest may not be easy.